BLANKETS AND WINE AT 50- THE PHOTOS

After an explosive first: a two-day Blankets & Wine (B&W) festival, held at the Carnivore grounds during the first weekend of January 2014, it’s now official – B&W is undoubtedly Nairobi’s number one monthly music festival and Kenya’s grandest. The first edition boasted over 10 live music acts (including countless DJs) from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. They included big names like: The Villagers Band, Just a Band (JAB), Sauti Sol, Harry Kimani, Mi Casa Music and Mafikizolo among others.

B&W has earned its high-flying reputation and stood the test of time. The picnic-style music festival started in Nairobi, five years ago, is now adored by many (mostly music lovers and trend-setters) and has become a serious crowd puller. Their first event of 2014 was a celebration of 50 B&W events and Kenya’s 50^thindependence anniversary. “We are very proud and satisfied at our two-day attempt. Nairobi now has a festival that we will work on till it gets to Glastonbury level. This is the direction in 2014,” asserted B&W Founder and CEO Muthoni Ndonga, adding, “The festival will be changing form and taking shape into becoming a world-renowned festival, and the idea of creating a bigger experience to focus on the African acts pushing boundaries and helping Africans come together.” B&W continues to impress and break boundaries. Since its inception, the festival has managed to expand to Uganda and Tanzania, and according to its CEO; this year intends to expand further into Tanzania and Rwanda, before venturing into other African countries like Zambia and Malawi.

READ MORE HERE-http://nairobizblogazine.blogspot.com/2014/01/blankets-and-wine-at-50-review.html

photography by: eye-con photography on facebook.

Komla Dumor: We Have Lost A Star, By Chimamanda Adichie

Premium Times

Published: January 19,2014

Yesterday, Komla Dumor died. Six years ago, we sat on the green grass outside Bogobiri and became friends. He had come to Lagos to interview me. A tall, broad Ghanaian with an open spirit; sometimes we meet people and we know instantly that we will be friends, that we will get them as they get us.

“Is there any other continent in the world where the word ‘discussant’ is actually used?” he asked me. So he, too, was amused by that word! I laughed and laughed. We made fun of Nigeria and Ghana. We spoke about our continent, the things we loved and longed for, the broken things we wished to make whole again. He was travelling through West Africa and his first email, after he left Lagos, included a photograph. He wrote: “The attached photo is meant to make you laugh. Abidjan airport. 35 degree heat. And I met this brother who had just arrived from France. In a fur coat. Ah well. How else would his people know he was from abroad? Laugh and be happy.” Then he sent a link to photos of his trip and wrote: “if you’re ever bored enough to check it out and laugh at the expanding midriff of your Ghanaian brother.”

Chimamanda Adichie

We lost touch for some years. I saw him again at TEDxEuston in London. ‘My discussant brother!” I said. And he, surprised and pleased, said, “you remember!” Of course I remembered. Did he not know, I wondered, that he was a person not easy to forget?

I watched FOCUS ON AFRICA with pride. Here, finally, was an African-focused show done right. Even if I had not known Komla, I would have been proud of his work. Because he pronounced his name the way it is supposed to be pronounced. Because he was an honest journalist, free of masks.

When his mother died, Komla wrote to me: “I tell you this because one day I will write about it. The ambulance ride. The Accra heat that day. The indifference of the nurses (why have you brought her here.. why wasn’t I informed..).The doctor whose first words when we arrived at the hospital was, “so have you said the final rites?”(as only a doctor trained in Africa could do).The way hope faded with each breath she took. The call at 4 am on Saturday the 13th of December. The voice at the end telling me she is gone. And perhaps the strange feeling I have now wondering why I haven’t been able to cry about this yet. Even though I know the dam is filling up in my soul…anyway maybe you have inspired me to write something.”

Komla’s words moved me. Love and frustration and grief for his mother, and also for his country, each feeding on and drawing from the other. Those emotions fuelled his reporting on Africa: his son-of-the-soil curiosity and authority, his quintessentially West African warmth, the space he made in his heart for mischief and joy. He was telling our story and telling us stories and representing us. Komla Dumor knew we had many failures, he knew too that hope could be wrested from African stories. He had a stake and it made a difference.

I last saw him in October at the African Leadership Conference in Mauritius. He was leaving. I had just arrived, and had missed a birthday party for him the previous day. “I thought superstars just don’t go to parties,” he teased, while I tried to make him postpone his leaving. I wish I had made that party. I wish we had talked more. I wish Komla were still here.

Komla swept into the world, stylish and sure, with his big chuckle, the light in his eyes, a genuine goodwill for people, a familiarity with laughter. He had no false modesty, yet an endearing insecurity lurked beneath his flair-filled confidence. He had, too, something close to innocence, a wonderful capacity for wonder. And now he is gone. We have lost a star. Go well, my discussant brother.

Electrafrique at Carnivore’s Simba Salon Every Third Saturday of the Month (Starting Saturday 18th Jan)

PRESS RELEASE: WEDNESDAY 15^TH JAN 2014

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Electrafrique at Carnivore’s Simba Salon Every Third Saturday of the Month (Starting Saturday 18^th Jan)

Tired of the monotony of Top 40/commercial music played most Nairobian clubs? Time for some exciting combination of electronic and live music performances thanks to Electrafrique! This Saturday and every other third Saturday of the month in 2014; Kenya’s premium entertainment brands and the only collective that performs Afro-Electronic Music and quality Electronic Dance Music (EDM) blended with live performances: Electrafrique DJs will be holding it down at the Carnivore’s Simba Salon.

Hosted by Electrafrique’s pioneer DJ Cortega, in partnership with Electrique DJs and the authentic Beat Parade Band from Kenya, who are well versed with traditional instruments like drums and percussion, this music ensemble will merge live African music with an electro/futuristic twist.

Electrafrique is a premier dance music show, which brings together a worldwide network of artists fusing elements of African music with Electronic beats. Electrafrique finds roots in African rhythms and musical traditions, adding a contemporary urban/futuristic electronic twist to its groove. This culminates into an experience that identifies solidly as African and resonates with people and dance floors in all corners of the world.

Soon (Jan 11th) after premiering another monthly Electrafrique dance party dedicated to African music lovers in New York in conjunction with Okayafrica, Electrafrique will be hosting a themed monthly event every third Saturday of the month at the Carnivore, in Nairobi. The event will feature renowned local & international acts on a regular basis. They have in the recent past hosted Black Motion (South Africa), Boddhi Satva(CAR), Carlos Mena (US), or Renato Xtrova (Angola); all (except Boddhi ) for the first time in Kenya.

FOR INTERVIEWS: Contact Anyiko Owoko (Publicist)

+254 721368 983/anyiko.pr@gmail.com

For more/media mentions: Follow @djcortega @electriquedjs via Twitter/ Like Electrafrique Facebook Fan Page

To watch Electrafique videos & documentaries: http://www.youtube.com/user/Electrafriquetv

For more on the Electrafrique NY Party:  http://www.okayafrica.com/2014/01/03/electrafrique-nyc-january-11/

For music, listen via https://soundcloud.com/electriquedjs/https://soundcloud.com/cortega

MAFIKIZOLO THRILL NAIROBI WITH SPIRITED PERFORMANCE AT BLANKETS & WINE

So what if Kenyans do not understand a word of the ubiquitous Zulu song, Khona, by South Africa’s sartorially and sonically gifted band, Mafikizolo? One thing that was understood at the Blankets and Wine concert, is Kenyans love a good live act.

Blankets and Wine celebrated its 50^th edition concert in Carnivore over the January 4^th weekend. The crowd no doubt screamed the wrong lyrics, but it didn’t even matter because Mafikozolo’s presence on stage was entertaining and the melodies familiar to the attendees. The amped up crowd chanted “KHONA” with the kind of gusto you’d expect to see at a Gor Mahia match. “If you’re going to play around with the love I gave you, bring it right back here,” Nonhlanhla Mafu summarizes of the song’s meaning. Khona won the “Most Gifted Dance Video” at the 2013 Channel O Video Music Awards.

Nonhlanhla is poised and lady like as she sits alongside her equally fashionable band member, Theo Kgosinkwe, at the Southern Sun Hotel. “Music and fashion go together. We’ve always taken our act very seriously.” Both members are impeccably groomed and well dressed. During the interview, Theo sports a colorful masai bracelet and fitted green blazer paired with a Mandela tee. Nonhlanhla wears a Barbie-esque pink lipstick, which compliments her flawless skin, and bright floral pants. It’s not hard to see why she started a clothing label, NN Vintage.

Mafikizolo’s latest album, Reunited, celebrates intercontinental languages and musical influences. This is most evident in the singles, Happiness and Nakupenda. One thing that devastated the fans and band members was the death of Mafikizolo’s third member, Tebogo Madingoane.“We were not going to look for another member. He would have liked that, not to be replaced,” says Theo. Since Tebogo’s death in 2004, the remaining band members pursued solo projects, but Mafikizolo are stronger together and that was clear at the Carnivore grounds this past weekend.

The combination of having a live band, entertaining dancers and a string of hits which the audience recognized was a winning combination and a great start to the 2014 Blankets and Wine program. The popular event is in the process of becoming a festival, instead of a one afternoon event, which features a mix of different genres from various African countries. Speaking specifically on Kenya, Muthoni The Drummer Queen said: “We need to export the music. All these Kenyan bands deserve to be known on the continent.”

For more info, log onto: www.blanketsandwine.com

By Josephine Opar.

http://www.upnairobi.com/dt_portfolio/mafikizolo-thrill-nairobi-with-spirited-performance-at-blankets-and-wine/

BLANKETS AND WINE AT 50 REVIEW

After an explosive first: a two-day Blankets & Wine (B&W) festival, held at the Carnivore grounds during the first weekend of January 2014, it’s now official – B&W is undoubtedly Nairobi’s number one monthly music festival and Kenya’s grandest. The first edition boasted over 10 live music acts (including countless DJs) from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. They included big names like: The Villagers Band, Just a Band (JAB), Sauti Sol, Harry Kimani, Mi Casa Music and Mafikizolo among others.

B&W has earned its high-flying reputation and stood the test of time. The picnic-style music festival started in Nairobi, five years ago, is now adored by many (mostly music lovers and trend-setters) and has become a serious crowd puller. Their first event of 2014 was a celebration of 50 B&W events and Kenya’s 50^thindependence anniversary. “We are very proud and satisfied at our two-day attempt. Nairobi now has a festival that we will work on till it gets to Glastonbury level. This is the direction in 2014,” asserted B&W Founder and CEO Muthoni Ndonga, adding, “The festival will be changing form and taking shape into becoming a world-renowned festival, and the idea of creating a bigger experience to focus on the African acts pushing boundaries and helping Africans come together.” B&W continues to impress and break boundaries. Since its inception, the festival has managed to expand to Uganda and Tanzania, and according to its CEO; this year intends to expand further into Tanzania and Rwanda, before venturing into other African countries like Zambia and Malawi.

She was speaking at a press conference attended by UP held at Mayfair Hotel, a day after the successful festival. During B&W Saturday fest, Mi Casa, Sarabi, JAB and Sauti Sol impressed with stellar and energetic live performances. On Sunday, the sweet-voiced Harry Kimani was the local breakout star. The former acclaimed “Haiya” singer, fell off the music scene recently following personal problems. He seems to have started off this year on the right foot, with his performance including the new single “Happiness”, backed by his angelic vocalists. The Villagers Band performed just before Mafikizolo, setting the pace for what would be a volatile and highly energetic performance (that included a choreographed dance show and crowd participation) from the South African duo, best known for their singles “Ndihamba Nawe” and “Khona”.

While at the press conference we caught up with Mi Casa Music, South African deep house band comprising members: JSomething (vocalist and guitarist), Dr. Duda (producer) and Mo – T (trumpeter). Just after completing a tour around 16 African countries including their host, South Africa, Mi Casa Music made a second return at B&W 50^th edition. Their latest single “Jika” off their new album is currently riding high on international charts. The three and a half year-old band promises that they are together to stay. About their diverse sound – lead singer JSomething says, “Everything about Mi Casa is very natural and not planned. Our sounds will always be us. Our music goes a lot deeper than house. We try to use live elements in our deep house (more soulful house) music, using house genre as our foundation. It’s what we grew up to. Duda grew up on a gospel front, Mo grew up on the jazz front and I grew upon the soulful side. That’s how we come up with our stirred up music, and adds “You will be surprised that house music is way bigger than kwaito in South Africa. House music had a perception that you have these four chords and a tag line and you’re done. Now we are creating music within house. That’s that but we are bringing out the musicality to house. Thank God it’s working and now the majority of house music coming from South African is very different.”

With such a rousing first edition of B&W January, we await to see their next course of action and music acts lined up for 2014.

For more on B&W, visit blanketsandwine.com

By Anyiko Owoko.

http://www.upnairobi.com/dt_portfolio/blankets-wine-at-50-review/